Transcript Document

Avoiding the Pitfalls of Bad Slides
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Outlines
Slide Structure
Fonts
Color
Background
Graphs
Spelling and Grammar
Conclusions
Questions
 Make
your 2nd slide an outline of your
presentation

Ex: previous slide
 Follow
the order of your outline for the rest
of the presentation
 Only place main points on the outline slide
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Ex: Use the titles of each slide as main points
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6 lines of text
6 words per line
 Bullets
 Use
imply no significant order
numbers only to show rank or
sequence
What
about them Sox hey?
 Use
1-2 slides per minute of your
presentation
 Write in point form, not complete sentences
 Include 4-5 points per slide
 6 * 6 Rule
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6 words per line
6 lines per slide
 Avoid
only
wordiness: use key words and phrases
 This
page contains too many words for a
presentation slide. It is not written in point
form, making it difficult both for your
audience to read and for you to present each
point. Although there are exactly the same
number of points on this slide as the previous
slide, it looks much more complicated. In
short, your audience will spend too much
time trying to read this paragraph instead of
listening to you.
 Show
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one point at a time:
Will help audience concentrate on what you are
saying
Will prevent audience from reading ahead
Will help you keep your presentation focused
 Do
not use distracting animation
 Do
not go overboard with the animation
 Be
consistent with the animation that you
use
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Minimum 36 point for titles
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24 point for body text
 This
is 32 point
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
point
Use Sans serif (no curly feet) such as Arial or
universal for body text
 Use San serif (no curly feet) such as Arial or
universal for body text
 Use serif such as a roman for titles only
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Use
a Readable Typeface and
Font
 Typeface
Examples
 Typeface Examples
 Typeface
Examples
 Typeface Examples
Arial
 Times New Roman
 Courier New
 GillSans
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 Make
titles a larger type size than body
elements
 emphasize
important statements or words
with bold, italic, larger
fonts.
size
or
different
Use at least a 24-point font
 Use different size fonts for main points and
secondary points
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this font is 24-point, the main point font is 28-point, and
the title font is 36-point
Use a standard font like Times New Roman or
Arial
 The bigger the better
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If you use a small font, your audience won’t be able to read what you have written
 CAPITALIZE
ONLY WHEN NECESSARY. IT IS
DIFFICULT TO READ
 Don’t use a complicated font
 Use
a color of font that contrasts sharply
with the background
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Ex: blue font on white background
 Use
color to reinforce the logic of your
structure

Ex: light blue title and dark blue text
 Use
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color to emphasize a point
But only use this occasionally
 Using
a font color that does not contrast with
the background color is hard to read
 Using colour for decoration is distracting and
annoying.
 Using a different color for each point is
unnecessary
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Using a different color for secondary points is
also unnecessary
 Trying
to be creative can also be bad
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Use the same color consistently
throughout the presentation
 Use
light letters on a dark background
To
determine if a slide is
legible when projected, hold
it up to a light;
if it is readable, it is
probably fine
Avoid placing saturated primary colors (red,
green or blue) adjacent to each other.
 They may create a third color where the two
colors meet.
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 Patterns
on bars
or pie slices
cause confusion.
 Solid
colors
convey a clear
bold message
50
40
30
20
10
0
1st Qtr 2nd 3rd Qtr4th Qtr
Qtr
Blue
Red
Hatch
Other
 Use
backgrounds such as this one that are
attractive but simple
 Use
 Use
backgrounds which are light
the same background consistently
throughout your presentation
 Avoid
backgrounds that are distracting or
difficult to read from
 Always be consistent with the background
that you use
 Make
titles a larger type size than body
elements
 emphasize
important statements or words
with bold, italic, larger
fonts.
size
or
different
 Use
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graphs rather than just charts and words
Data in graphs is easier to comprehend & retain
than is raw data
Trends are easier to visualize in graph form
 Always
title your graphs
January February
Blue Balls
20.4
27.4
Red Balls
30.6
38.6
March
90
34.6
April
20.4
31.6
Items Sold in First Quarter of 2002
100
90
80
70
60
Blue Balls
Red Balls
50
40
30
20
10
0
January
February
March
April
100
90
90
80
70
60
Blue Balls
50
Red Balls
38.6
40
34.6
31.6
30.6
27.4
30
20.4
20.4
20
10
0
January
February
March
April
 Minor
gridlines are unnecessary
 Font is too small
 Colours are illogical
 Title is missing
 Shading is distracting
 Proof
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your slides for:
speling mistakes
the use of of repeated words
grammatical errors you might have make
 Please
have someone else check your
presentation!
 Use
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Your audience is likely to remember your last
words
 Use
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an effective and strong closing
a conclusion slide to:
Summarize the main points of your presentation
Suggest future avenues of research
 End
your presentation with a simple question
slide to:
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Invite your audience to ask questions
Provide a visual aid during question period
Avoid ending a presentation abruptly
 To
move text box, drag the cursor over the
box until a 4-point arrow appears.
 Hold down the mouse button and drag.
 To resize a text box, drag the cursor over
the box until a 2-point arrow appears.
 Hold down the mouse button and drag.
 To set text, click outside text box.
 Add
Clipart where
appropriate
 If
ever
 Click
Insert.
 Select Picture.
 Select Clip Art.
 Choose an image. Click Insert.
 Save.
 To
move an image, drag the cursor over the
image until a 4-point arrow appears.
 Hold down the mouse button and drag.
 To resize an image, drag the cursor over the
image until a 2-point arrow appears.
 Hold down the mouse button and drag.
 Or click Format and select Picture to adjust
image size, position, color, and line.
 Click
Insert. Select New Slide.
 Or click New Slide on Common Task bar.
 Or click new slide icon on tool bar.
 Choose the blank slide.
 Insert
text. Highlight text.
 Click Slide Show. Select Custom Animation.
 Choose desired effect options.
 Choose desired timing options.
 Click Preview.
 Click OK.
 Save.
 Insert
Clip Art.
 Click Slide Show. Select Custom Animation.
 Choose desired effect options.
 Choose desired timing options.
 Click Preview.
 Click OK.
 Save.
 Click
forward or backward arrow.
 Click Slide Show.
 Select Slide Transition.
 Choose desired slide transition.
 Click Apply to All.
 Save.
 Click
Slide Show.
 Select View Show.
 Enjoy!
 Your
slides are a focus for your presentation
 Your presentation is not proof of your thesis
 Your paper is proof
 You present your proof with slides to focus
interest on what you think is important